We’ve seen the charts that show mass shootings have only a moderate impact on public opinion. We’ve heard the pundits say gun control doesn’t stand a chance in Congress.

But Newtown was different. Just look at the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, which shows the broadest support for stricter gun laws in about a decade. As many as 54 percent of Americans now think gun laws should be tightened — a sizable jump from the CBS News poll last April, which estimated it at 39 percent.

So the president’s all-out effort just might work. This is an about-face from the trend of recent years, which saw a rapid rise in opposition to gun control. Many people had assumed that was irreversible. Some even noted a slight uptick after Obama’s 2008 inauguration, suggesting his presidency had stirred up more backlash.

As recently as July, and in the wake of the Colorado movie theater shooting, a Washington Post blogger wrote, "It’s clear that no politician — up to and including President Obama — will spend an ounce of political capital pushing for stricter gun control measures. The public simply doesn’t want it."

How wrong we all were. Now, even Obama’s proposed renewal of the assault weapons ban, expected to face a grueling fight in Congress, has strong majority support. As do the other laws he’s proposing: bans on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, better background checks for gun purchasers.

Even after the Sandy Hook massacre, nay-sayers still insist the odds are stacked against him, that it’s too politically treacherous. Remember, many had also imagined a worst-case scenario for Obama’s re-election bid, after he announced his support for marriage equality. Bloomberg News said he’d stepped into "the most divisive civil-rights issue in the nation," and opponents called it a gift to the Romney campaign.

Yet not only did Obama’s support for gay marriage not hurt him with swing states, it didn’t lose him the minority votes that many were so worried about. So now that we’re told, once again, that he is wading too deep into one of the nation’s most divisive cultural issues, be skeptical. How divisive is this, really?

Will Obama get everything he wants from Congress? It’s doubtful. But don’t assume this battle is lost before it begins. The White House isn’t calling for a confiscation of arms here. Just some reasonable public safety measures, which many gun owners support.

Let lawmakers wrestle with their conscience, as Obama has, and maybe this time they’ll listen to the American public — not just the lobby for gun profiteers.